Page to Screen: Updates on YA-Based Movies

Because of my day job, I often get asked what I know about upcoming young-adult movies. What most book fans probably already know is that just because a book gets optioned (meaning someone has acquired the rights to adapt it into a television show or movie) doesn’t mean the title is actually going to end up on the big screen. And when it comes to a series, just because an adaptation gets made and released doesn’t mean there will ever be anything more than the first film, depending on how it performed at the box office. I’d love to say that critical response is important as well, but the truth is that in Hollywood, box office is king — so if a studio thinks it can make millions off of a sequel, they don’t dwell on whether the movie is also going to land on best-of-year lists or earn any award nominations.

Here’s what I know about a few popular YA projects. I’ll be writing about this issue often, so if I didn’t mention a book today, I’ll get to it eventually.

1. “Where She Went”: Even though “If I Stay” received mixed reviews and made $49 million in the U.S. ($60 million worldwide), it’s still a modest box-office success, since the movie itself had a pretty frugal budget (reportedly only $11 million). That means the studio did make more than double its money back (if the reported budget is accurate). But, there’s still no word that “Where She Went” will get made, particularly because star Chloe Moretz is so busy with other upcoming roles, any “If I Stay” sequel would need to be greenlit and locked down fairly soon to make sure the young actors could reprise their parts. I actually loved “Where She Went” and would be so excited to see Jamie Blackley play broody rockstar Adam for two hours, but I think the chances for the movie are a maybe but probably not.

2. “The Fifth Wave”: Speaking of Chloe Moretz, her big next role is playing main character Cassie Sullivan in “The Fifth Wave” adaptation, which is currently filming and set for a Jan. 29, 2016 release. In addition to Moretz, the cast includes Liev Schreiber as Col. Vosch, Nick Robinson (“Kings of Summer”) as Ben, and newcomer Alex Roe as Evan Walker. Coming soon, in Jan. 2016.

3. “Paper Towns”: Since “The Fault in Our Stars” was an unqualified hit (it made $125 million on a $12 million budget), it’s no surprise that another John Green-penned novel got immediately green-lit. It was adapted by the same screenwriters who wrote “FiOS” and stars Nat Wolff as Quentin Jacobsen and Cara Delevingne as his neighbor/crush Margo Roth Spiegelman. Coming soon, June 19, 2015

Sequels definitely happening (not going to bother mentioning “Mockingjay, Part 2,” since we all know about it):

—“Insurgent”: “Divergent” fans have plenty to be happy about, because this trilogy will definitely finish getting adapted (unlike, say, “Beautiful Creatures’). This installment is already in post-production and will be released early next year, on March 20, 2015.

–“The Scorch Trials”: After “The Maze Runner” outperformed at the box office (it’s still finishing in the top 2 at the box office and has made over $150 million worldwide), the sequel was fast-tracked and is already in pre-production with the same filmmakers and stars. Coming soon, in Sept. 2015.

Hello fellow book lovers! Teen Lit Rocks is run by Sandie Chen, a professional book reviewer and film critic. Our contributors are all adult women (librarians, educators, mothers) hailing from across the U.S. and Canada who love to read YA. We support diversity in teen literature and can't wait to discuss our recommendations with you.